Playfully twisting the expectations of a murderous noir via fairytales and black comedy, William Friedkin's film of Tracy Letts' play is all wrapped up in two riveting performances and the director's sure hand.

As the titular Joe, Matthew McConaughey does his career immeasurable service (with this and Magic Mike on the way he looks to be making something of a resurgence). The shadow of dreary rom-coms and the bloated blockbuster flop Sahara has made filmgoers unfamiliar with McConaughey the actor, the guy who delivered cool, detached menace in Frailty, was affably scruffy in EdTV, and in the mid-nineties starred in a promising string of strong dramas (A Time To Kill, Contact, Amistad and Lone Star).

This role gives McConaughey the chance to turn his slick charm on its head, turning into a slippery, oozing threat liable to explode at any second. His Joe teeters on a knife edge, at once oddly polite and pleasant whilst simultaneously manipulative and sinister. This is mirrored by the damaged innocence of Dottie Smith (Juno Temple), tellingly her doll's house has a Prince Charming perched on the top and she confides in a Princess doll, there's a careful, simmering under-current to her character that, like Joe, suggests 'still waters run deep'.

Around Dottie, her fellow family members, brother Chris (Emile Hirsch), father Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) and step-mother Sharla (Gina Gershon) paint with broader strokes. Chris is a twitchy, shiftless, often impetuous drug dealer; Ansel is a crumpled fool, dependent and dopey, with a comical self-awareness; whilst Sharla a beleaguered, slovenly piece of trailer trash.

When Chris finds himself in debt to some local criminals thanks to his biological mother's carelessness, he decides to call in 'Killer Joe' a crooked cop who, for $20,000, will assassinate his mother, allowing Chris to collect her life insurance policy of $50,000. There's just one problem, Joe needs the money up front and Chris doesn't have any money. So, Joe asks for Dottie as a retainer.

The film slinks around, a few twists and turns on the way, but primarily it's the interactions between this peculiar family dynamic that keep the attention. Played for dark laughs, though it is also frequently laugh-out-loud funny, there's a tightrope walk between humour and horror, but Friedkin generally keeps things balanced and, as things unravel, the film improves.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here